Earth Day Success Story – One Billion Dollars, 1.2 Million Miles and 60,000 Gallons of Fuel

DaimlerChrysler has logged more than 1.2 million miles of zero-emissions fuel cell experience — no other automobile manufacturer even comes close.

This combined mileage is a result of more than 100 fuel cell vehicles operating worldwide, including Mercedes-Benz F-Cell passenger cars, Dodge Sprinter medium-duty fuel cell-powered vans and Citaro fuel cell-powered transportation buses.

The average petroleum-powered vehicle in the United States has a fuel economy of about 20 miles per gallon. Using that as a base, the operation of these hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has reduced conventional gasoline and diesel consumption by more than 60,000 gallons with zero emissions.

The aggressive $1 billion-plus investment that DaimlerChrysler has committed to fuel cell vehicle research will continue to keep the company on the cutting edge of fuel cell technology.

Through programs such as the Department of Energy Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project, DaimlerChrysler will place more fuel cell vehicles in the hands of customers, who will provide valuable feedback about performance in different environments. DaimlerChrysler is testing more than 100 fuel cell vehicles under varying weather, traffic conditions and driving styles in different locations worldwide. This experience will benefit the development of the fuel cell automobile and how it will be refueled. BP is the energy partner of DaimlerChrysler in the project.

DaimlerChrysler has been involved with fuel cell development for more than 10 years and is one of the founding members of The California Fuel Cell Partnership. The company also works closely with Ballard Power Systems to further develop the technology. Fuel cell vehicles are part of DaimlerChrysler’s advanced propulsion technology umbrella, which also includes exceptionally efficient gasoline engines, advanced diesels, bio-fuels and hybrid powertrain systems.